Optic atrophy, sensorineural hearing loss and polyneuropathy--a case of sporadic Rosenberg-Chutorian syndrome

We report on a 41-year-old woman with slowly progressive motor dominant polyneuropathy, optic atrophy and sensorineural deafness, but without any known familial feature. These neurological manifestations were in accordance with the syndrome reported by Rosenberg and Chutorian in 1967 (Rosenberg-Chutorian syndrome), a unique form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The syndrome was first reported to be autosomal dominant in trait, but subsequently recessive forms and sporadic ones have also been described. Nerve biopsy and neurophysiological studies including electromyography, nerve conduction velocities, somatosensory evoked potentials, auditory brainstem responses, and visual evoked potentials revealed the axonopathic involvement of the central nervous system as well as the peripheral nervous system. Since neurophysiological aspects of this particular syndrome have not been well studied, these results would provide some insight into the understanding of this disorder.